We bottled about 1,000 bottles of Rosé Wednesday morning. I let an uncorked bottle through the line that got up-ended into a box with 4 other bottles. We were not labeling at that point and no one else saw it. Cleaning up the mess and finding a new box got us back in rhythm again.
That’s the first of those in about 10 bottlings. W also had trouble with the corker not dropping the “train” of corks through the tube. So we had a dozen bottles removed from the stand without corks. I caught all but one! Ouch.
Fall progresses. A couple of wild turkeys came by and the little Douglas Squirrels were busy collecting and storing Black Walnuts. The trees produced many more than the squirrels know what to do with.
They have several locations where they stockpile the nuts. Often there is some out of the way place, but frequently the base of a tree gets anointed. The photo above shows the base of a Forsythia bush between two of the trees. They, the squirrels don’t have to carry the nuts far. When a nut is picked up there is a distinctive 2-hole puncture in the husk.
I don’t see this location as a good solution but I left it. Most of the harvest I carted to 4 spots of my choosing where there is a protective cover. I note they are stripping the husks off and carrying the nuts to places I mostly don’t know about. One is in some of the remaining insulation in the big shed – that is going to end next year. They make a mess.
After arriving in the EBRG area I began to help with the Conservation District’s native plant sale. After 7 or 8 years the demand grew so much that the burden, even with volunteers doing the busy work, was distracting the District’s crew from the regular activities. Before the annual sale ended I obtained a few small maple trees – Douglas Maples but commonly called Rocky Mountain Maples., and Mountain Ash Trees. Both are common in the mountains west of me, but my location does not keep them happy. Still, I’ve brought them to adulthood.
Here is what the foliage and fruit of the Ash look like this fall.
The Maples have been the hardest to get the color and fruit for which they are famous. But here is success.
Travelers on I-90 going over Snoqualmie Pass get to see lots of these little maples. I have three and one gets too much shade, so doesn’t perform.
What’s next? Snow! Tuesday through the rest of the week there is a chance of snow and temperatures near 20°F. I’m not happy about this.
Keeping Track
on the Naneum Fan
John